CONSTANCE
293
CONSTANCE
mal condemnation of Petit and his thost-s, l)ut his
Franciscan brethren defended him in a common me-
morial; the coimcil finall.y was content with con-
demning in a general way the proposition that, regard-
less of his oath and without awaiting a judicial sen-
tence, any vassal or subject might licitly kill, or cause
to be killed, a tyrant. Quite similar was the case of
Johann von Falkenberg, a German Dominican, who
had maintained in a violent work against the King of
Poland that it was allowed to kill him and all other
Poles (Mansi, Cone, XXVII, 76,5). Many demanded
with much earnestness the condemnation of Falken-
berg, but no definite sentence was pronounced, des-
pite the ardent discu.ssions (see Tyr.vnnicide), not
even in the fort}--fifth (last) session when the Poles
urged it on Martin V; he declared that in matters of
faith he would approve only what had been decided
by the holy general coimcil conciliarilcr, i. e. by the
whole council and not by one or more nations. As
noted above, these wonts of the pope refer only to the
particular (Falkenberg) matter before him ami not to
all the decrees of the council, even in matters of faith.
IV. Attend.\nce .\t the Council; Generai,
CoN.siDERATioNS. — Owing to its long duration the at-
tendance at the council varied much. The highest
figures reached were: 29 cardinals, 3 patriarchs, 33
archbishops, 150 bishops, 100 abbots, 50 provosts, .300
doctors (mostly of theology). It was calculated that
some 5000 monks and friars were present and in all
about 18,000 ecclesiastics. The visitors are variously
reckoned from 50,000 to 100,000 or more. Many Eu-
ropean sovereigns and princes were jjresent, invited
by the emperor, among them (besides Emperor Sigis-
mund and his suite) the Electors Ludwig von der
Pfalz and Rudolph of Saxony, the Dukes of Bavaria,
Austria, Saxony, Schleswig, Mecklenburg, Lorraine,
and Teck, the Margrave of Brandenburg, also the am-
bassadors of the Kings of France, England. Scotland,
Denmark, Poland, Naples, and the S|ianish kingdoms.
Towards the end the Greek emperor, Michael Pateolo-
su>j, w.as also [ircsent (19 Feb., ULS, with 19 Greek
I ii-1 M ips). In some respects the council resembled more
- i iMi.dern Catholic congress than a traditional eccles-
ii-i ir:il s\Tiod. The numerous princes and nobles by tin i; tournaments and splendid amusements; the mer- 1 1 u 1 1 N by their rich and curious wares ; the travellers by Mil ir number and importance; the fringe of fakirs and ill-banks found at all popular gatherings, made ' inee for the time the cynosure of all Europe and I >f the Greek world. There is, of course, no rea- ' 1 wonder that in so motley a throng, suddenly ri'd from all quarters, moral disorders and loose
- should have manifested themselves. Quite
from the reliability or animus of some gossipy ulers, the council was directly responsible only own acts and not for the life of the city of Con- It must also be remembered that in one way other unforeseen events and situations pro-
I the council beyond all ordinary prevision. H the.sc were: the flight of John XXIII; the ny process of Benedict XIII; the general i-y and dislike of the cardinals, and in turn,
itural efforts of the latter to save the eccle-
- il constitution from thorough ruin at the un-
, 1 list moment for the papal authority, hitherto its
■iMMT-stone; the passionate longing for a public can-
•iiK il purification of Catholicism from its acknowl-
I I abuses and excrescences (in the head and in the
II Ciiria). We need not wonder that at the end remarkable diary of the council, Cardinal Guil-
- • Fillastre wrote as follows (Finke ed., For-
ichungen und Quellen, p. 242): "Hoe Constantien.se
loncilium . . . onmibus (pue prece.s.serunt generalibus
(iiiiiliis fuit in congregando difTicilius, in progressu
I irius, mirabilius et periculosius, et tempore diu-
1^". i. e. no previous council was gotten together
.-o much difficulty, or ran a career so unique.
marvellous and perilous, or lasted so long. From
an ecclesiastical point of view, the Council of Con-
stance may truly be said to close the medieval and
to open the modern period. It was an anti-climax
for the all-dominant medieval papacy, while in Sigis-
mund (Emperor-elect, King of Hungary, heir of Bo-
hemia, etc.) for the last time appears a pale image of
the ideal office of the medieval empire. The language
of its orators and its '■'Acta" exhibits a certain dawn
of Humanism (Finke) while there for the first time
modern nationalism, quite different from its medieval
prototype, comes to the front, dominates the entire
situation, menaces even the immemorial unity of the
Church, and begins its Inni; nireer of discordant rela-
tions with the central ailiiiiiii>l nitnui of Catholicism
(see G.\LLICANISM ; HoMin ni, .Ihhaxn). Not a few-
elements of the later eeclrsustieal revolution under
Luther (q. V.) are alread_y visibly present at Constance.
The German nation in particular remained grievously
discontented with the local resxilts of the second of
the great reform councils (Pisa, Constance, Basle),
and throughout the fifteenth century sought variously,
but with little success, to realize the demands put
forth at the Council of Constance. [See Eugene
IV; Martin V; Sigisiiund, E.mperor; F. Rocquain,
"Lacourde Romeet I'esprit de reforme avant Luther"
(Paris, 1900), also Pastor (see below), and Janssen,
" Hist, of the German People", etc. Pope; Primacy;
Reformation; Church; Trent, Council op; Vat-
ican, Councils op the.]
Acts of the Council. — The chief collection of the Acts of the council and pertinent document'^ i^ that of vox der Hardt, in .sixfolio volumes, Mafjnum- itruui, mt-nn Cfjistanfiense concilium (Frankfort and Leipziff. I6U_' I7(lili. whcni-p they passed into Hardouin (VIII) and Mansi XWll X.WIII). All former editions, however, of these Aii- .nui (ioniinents are in many ways imperfect and uncritira!l\ filiu -I, ;ind must give way to the (partly finished) edition of lli ixkh ii I'in-ke, Acta Concilii Constantimsis 1. (Miinster. XS'.lf, . fiuin 1110 to 1414; Ada AragoTicnsia (1907); cf. Zur Knlik <ivr Akten, etc., in hia For.tchunffcn und Quellen (below), 52-68; also No^l Valois, in preface to Vol. HI of La France et Ic grand sckisme d^ Occident (Paris, 1901). Many important documents are in Raynaldus, Ann. EccL, at! nnn 11111^: ^rr nlso for important correspon- dence and other li iiuinrnt M\i II m; and Durand, Thesaurus
novus anccd., II, nl h i,in. Beitragc zxir Gesch. des
XV-XVl.J,il,,i, ,.„.:,,: Muim h, isr,:j), II. C!. Deutsche Reichs- taqsakten, IV-Xl.lr.jm 14(iu i.. UoS (Munich and Gotha, 1878- 1900), a very important collection of civil and ecclesiastical interest; also the writings of Pierre d'Ailly and Gerson.
Modern. Historic-^ of the Cm/veit. Lenfaxt (ralvinist). Hist.
duCnnr,!,- ,!■■<■.,-■: ,,! p,| , \„,,pr,lnm. 1727); RoYKO
(Joscpli II- ' ' ■' ■ h r' ■ ■ unmlunq zu
CoMu:' i. ^ \\,--i II . Icbronian),
Die !_,,.' ' / \ I \ 17, .lahrhun-
dert.'i U'<'H,^i,i ■ ' i ' 1 1 L. h i, .1 Uistoni
of the Papu, , / , , ,, i The Great
Schismandll' i ■ i i 1^^' Ivxcellent
Cathohc ac.,,„ , ., ,. ,/, Co.'ilama
(Naples, 18s:i,, ;i , \ II, JO. 66 sqq.;
Pastor, Histort/ uj (h^ /■-," ^ ' I ' II; bALKMBiER. Le grand schi.^mc d^Oeeid, n^ Cm _"il 1 Ui, has good liter- ature of the subject ; MmiM'h /', A '?r ,/ :ii Constanz (ihid., 1S98): BuEMF.TZRiini i: /I ■ '- , !//,,.„:,/ z,i Cnnstanz (1904).
Diaries and f'hniii : ! I n i . i iinintrl.iiit of the contem- porary account^ of il,. /^mn/ of (Jt'ii.lat'me Fil- lastre, Cardiiud, "f ^ I M III a Icadini: , 'Spirit durinc the entire council Ii. I , , ;, 77) that i) is Ihrouchout trustworthy iiim! . i i , :.. i ..lucd by him from Vatican MSS. 4173 mill 11,11,' ., imdQudUn (liclow), 163- 242). AmoiiL- ill- . Ill I I. I i!ir rounci! arc THEODOHictia
(DiETERirn) !))■, \ I, : i. Aiiinivtinian. De consola-
tione Eeele.^iiF. .s, t/ // ' ' - ■, n the fii^t volume of VON der Hardt; Ti Im n i von Niem, a well- informed but partial .hi I iih. 1 1 , ,s i.irr, lli sehismate lihri UI ed.ERLERd.eipzic. Is'.in . io. \ . hi,..s ..>,,,.,,!-« (Hasle. l.-ieG), and In.. Hi.-itorin de riJo .loli.niins .Will, iti the second volume of VON DER IIarot: rt.Hi.ii voN l! icii i;NTiiAL, Chrouik dcs Kon- .■^tnnzer Konzih. rd. M. H, Bi( k, in /iibl. d. htternr. Icrrm.i i>i Stuttgart (Tiibineen, 1.SS21. Vol. CLVIII.
Lives of Prominent Participants. — Archbach. Gcsehiehte Kaiser Siqismumh (Hamburff, 1838-45); Jeep, Gerson., Wicliff und Hu.'!S (Gnttinirpn. 1S.>7): I.osebth. ./. Hu.'!s und WirJif (Prague IsfP: Smwiii, .;,./•.„;,.,.. |-,',-r..„„ nViirzhur- IS.'iS); M»ssn-, ,/ ',' '!...:■ IVM; ^,,,„|,,,,,. ;•,.,-,..,/£
■S';)
,1/ U
. h„
.■.1,1.
V/o
u<d„
Tliioru (Roiiio. 1893); lU.ss, Sltulitn z. Ge.ieh. de.-< Konatanzer
Koneil.i (1H91). I; Denifle, Les delegues des universitfs fran-
eaises an ConcUe de Constance in Revue des Bibliotht-ques (Paris,
1892); also his Desolation des fglises, des monasteres el des
